


Recipe to Success

by Sturmius



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff, M/M, No beta we die like Sigma, Not Canon Compliant, Secret Identity, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, very slow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:27:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25672060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sturmius/pseuds/Sturmius
Summary: Zero is an A-rank Maverick Hunter, following his duties during a very cold winter, but one day he meets a friendly reploid in a café, that leaves him puzzled.English is not my first language, so please beware xD
Relationships: X/Zero (Rockman)
Comments: 61
Kudos: 42





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Chi is the name of the greek letter Χ

When asking if you’re normal 

The one thing you ought to know 

Is that all of us are struggling; 

Some just never let it show. 

-Ms. Moem 

It’s a cold winter day in Abel City. The coldest since centuries. The thermostat says -25°C, and it doesn’t seem like it will get much warmer the next few days. 

Most of the civilian reploids tend to stay indoors during extreme temperatures to avoid getting trouble with their joints or hydraulics. Combatdroids on the other hand have to keep working, apart from a few exceptions, who still have to stay available in case of emergency. 

Zero, an A-Rank Maverick Hunter, is one of those unfortunate Combatdroids. Of course, the warbot has to patrol District 7 today, the shopping district, which completely closed up during those freezing days. The powder snow on the ground reaches his ankles and creeps further into his joints with each step, while the entrances to most shops are completely frozen over. 

His threat assessment doesn’t ring at all. Not a single soul is on the street. 

„Zero? Do you read me? Any new status updates?“, a female voice, coming from a Reploid named Alia, asks through his comm. Zero reaches up to his aural cone, placing his hand on the side of his helmet to answer his navigator. „Negative. The streets are completely abandoned.“ 

„Affirmative. What about your personal status?“ 

„The cold is starting to affect the joints in my fingers and legs, but my system shows no critical dangers as of yet.“ 

„Make sure to find a place to warm up, if your system temperature drops too low.“ 

„Understood.“ 

Zero drops his hand back down and sighs quietly. _I am an A class hunter. Why would they send me to the emptiest district in all of Able City…? And the worst of all, all shops are closed, there is no place for me to warm up again..._

After walking down a few streets, securing the already secure area, his Olfaction receptors receive the faint smell of coffee. „One of them still has open?“ 

Walking a tad bit faster, in hopes to find a place to get back to working temperatures, he follows the smell until he finds a café tucked away in a side street. The entrance has been freed of the snow masses and a small sign at the door shows that, in fact, it is open. 

Zero looks up to the sign that reveals the shops name, „Potential, huh? What a strange name for a café“. Since this is his only option, he decides to enter the store. 

Warm air hits him immediately after opening the door. Zero’s systems welcome this a lot, but his face is still being kept unimpressed. The café seems rather small, only has 5 tables for customers to sit at, none of which are occupied by anyone. Lots of plants, tiny knickknacks and poems written on the walls decorate the place. _A human probably runs this place, there’s way too many useless decorations for a reploid to run this place._

While the snow melts off Zero’s boots, wetting the floor in the process, a reploid holding a cup in his hands comes forth from a backdoor behind the counter. He is wearing a blue hoodie, dark blue jeans and a black apron on top. If it wasn’t for his aural cones peeking out from his brown mess of hair, you could easily mistake him for a human. „Oh! A customer. Sorry, I didn’t notice you entering, hope you didn’t wait for too long.“, the reploid says rather embarrassed. 

„No. I just entered.“, Zero answers unimpressed, but his threat assessment does activate. He decides to ignore it though, since a simple civilian reploid shouldn’t trigger his threat assessment like this. Probably a bug, he should get it checked. 

„Ah, thank Asimov. So, what can i get for you?“ 

Zero studies the menu above the display for a couple seconds, before deciding to get a warm Energy booster. 

After paying the required amount of Zenny, he sits down at one of the tables, waiting for his order and running a quick selfscan, that strangely comes out green. 

„Sooo, you’re a Combatdroid, judging by your armor, right? What are you doing outside during such cold weather?“ 

„I am a Maverick Hunter, patroling the District.“ _Why is he engaging in Smalltalk with me…? Do I look like I want to talk to him..?_

„I could’ve guessed you’re one. Hehe, I didn’t want to be too direct tho…. Your cold resistance must be pretty great, if you can easily handle temperatures like these.“ 

„I never said that.“ 

„Oh, I am sorry. I just assumed it, since well.. you were outside and all..“ The reploid places the warm beverage in front of Zero after finishing his order, but instead of going back behind the counter, the reploid sits down across from Zero, still having his own cup in his hands. 

„I am Chi, by the way, what’s your name?“, the reploid, now known as Chi, asks him after a couple seconds of awkward silence. He’s been smiling most of the time, and Zero still hasn’t figured out why he’s being friendly with him. 

„The name’s Zero.“, he provides as an answer and takes a sip from his cup, his eyebrows automatically raising a bit, due to the surprisingly pleasant taste of his drink. 

Chi didn’t miss out on that and immediately beams at Zero, slightly leaning his direction, „It’s good, right?“ 

Schooling his features again, Zero looks at the smaller reploid in front of him and supports his head on his palm while leaning his elbow on the table. „Why didn’t you close shop like literally everyone else did?“ 

Chi noticed him avoiding his question, but smiles at him regardless, replying to his question after taking another sip, probably buying some time to form a good answer, „So people like you still have the opportunity to have a place to rest and warm up at.“ 

Zero wasn’t expecting that kind of answer from a simple civilian model, designed to serve customers. Once again, his facial features betray him and show his curiosity. 

„What? Did I say something wrong?“, Chi asked, very self-conscious all of a sudden, circling the rim of his cup with his index finger and staring intently at the liquid inside to avoid eye contact. 

Zero just stares at Chi, puzzled by his reaction. He has never met any reploid that behaves as human as Chi does. _Maybe it’s because he’s programmed that way, to appeal more to human customers._

The lack of answer makes Chi visibly uncomfortable and having Zero stare at him like this only adds up to it. 

Zero realizes how uncomfortable his conversational partner got and quickly drains the contents of his cup. He cringes a little at how much was still in the cup and how his tongue got burnt at the tip. „I.. No, you didn’t say anything wrong, I was just in thought.“, he then gets up, „thank you for the energy, but I will get back to work now.“ 

Chi gets up as well and smiles at Zero, „it’s been nice to talk to you. I really hope I’ll see you around more often now that you know where my shop is.“ 

Zero doesn’t answer , as to not give Chi any hopes on seeing him again, but salutes to show that he received his message. 

Chi shows him to the exit and waves at Zero through the glass door before turning away, probably to clean off the table they sat at. A few steps away from the entrance, he reads a sign hanging on the wall. 'Every encounter is a possibility. Make the best of it.' _A_ _possibility_ _, huh?_

He then continues his patrol, now freshly warmed up and his thoughts stuck on an encounter that left him puzzled. 


	2. Chapter 2

Several weeks have passed since visiting Chi at the café and Zero is casually walking down the hallway in the Maverick Hunter base, currently on his way to the sparring area. Most hunters are usually rather busy during winter. The cold temperatures and snowstorms make it hard for the hunters to defend during an ambush.   
But the temperatures are so low this year, even the Mavericks seem to have trouble utilizing their forces. Never had the hunters that much free time on their hands. 

A lot of hunters use their unusual free time to train in the sparring area or the battle simulator, just to keep their senses sharp and optimize their strategies. Others socialize with fellow hunters by having Smalltalk in the hallways or meeting up in the cafeteria, gossiping about their commanders and colleagues alike. 

Zero was never fond of the latter. For him, they are just wasting time by performing unnecessary actions. Hence why he decided to hand out training routines to the lower ranked hunters in his platoon. He may not be able to order around S-rank or other A-rank hunters, but the B-rank hunters shall not fall victim to these energy wasting activities. 

Shortly before reaching the sparring room, an alert echoes through his comm. “Alert! A Maverick attack has occurred in District 6. All available units in the 17th and 13th platoon, that can function in the extreme cold, please respond!”   
Zero immediately notifies his navigator and shortly after he gets another notification containing the coordinates and details about the mission. 

He and a handful of other hunters then rush to the hangar. 

Even before he arrives at the provided coordination, his threat assessment shows three energy readings. 2 of which are formidable but rather weak compared to the third one. It sends sparks and shivers through his whole body. Then one of the weaker readings vanishes completely. One down. _Did one of the commanders arrive before me?_   
Zero dismounts his Ride Chaser by jumping off and immediately rushes at high speed towards the attack site. 

The second energy reading disappears mere seconds before he even sees the Mavericks. Two construction mechs lie motionless on the ground. They have multiple indents, burn marks and holes in their bodies. _Those are definitely caused by energy shots_. 

Zero searches the area, trying to find the source of that third energy reading, the one that made his entire body twitch uncomfortably. _Who could possibly be such a huge threat, to cause such a reaction from my system?_

Then he sees it. A reploid, not particularly tall, in blue and white armor, equipped with a jet engine on his back that holds two rather short immovable wings on either side of his body. It’s flying in direction of District 7. _It won’t be able to fly_ _great distances, nor is it that fast, maybe I can catch up._ _I need to cease this threat immediately._

Before finishing that thought, he already started the engines in his boots to dash forward and catch up to that mysterious robot, that makes his threat assessment slowly go crazy. 

The mysterious reploid immediately notices it’s being followed and uses tight turns into narrow alleyways to shake off his pursuer, jumping off wall buildings to increase their airtime. 

“Zero, you were really fast! How did you neutralize the targets so fast?”, Alia, his navigator asks through their comm line. 

“I didn’t. Something even more dangerous destroyed them. I am currently in pursuit.”, Zero replies without stopping for a second. The slippery ground makes it even harder to get the turns in time. 

“Wait, that’s strange, I can’t see any other readings on our radar, send us your local readings, so I can aid you in your pursuit.” 

Without audible affirmation, he immediately sent his system readings and gets the best route to follow his target. 

“Turn left, then immediately right to cut it off, you should get a 0.3 second advantage there!” 

He turns left, loses sight of his target, due to taking a different route than his target, then immediately right and comes to an immediate halt. The threat assessment vanishes in mere seconds. And he can’t see his target anymore. Zero’s activates a selfscan. 

“What?! Where did it go?! Did we really just lose it? I request a selfscan!”, Alia practically shouts into his receivers. 

It comes out green. 

“My scan shows no signs of disfunction.”, Zero states, to Alias despair. 

“But then, where did it go? It can’t just vanish… right?” 

“I have no information regarding their ability of hiding energy readings or vanishing completely.” 

“We will now initiate a search through our network, using your sent data. Maybe we’ll be able to find their identity and track them down. I will contact you again, once we got our results. View your mission as completed until further notice.” 

“Understood.” Then the comm line goes quiet. 

Frustration doesn’t even come close to describing what Zero feels right now. He could evacuate the alley, but notices more energy readings from his threat assessment now. They are very weak compared to what he felt a minute ago, so he disregarded them completely. Probably just residents of the area anyway. 

But one reading stands out a little. It is very close and he feels like he knows it from somewhere, so he decides to investigate. Maybe it’s that strange reploid and it’s just able to repress its energy reading by a lot. 

Zero carefully takes the next turn, to see that there is in fact someone sitting in the corner of the alley, panting heavily while rubbing their arms. Their back is turned towards Zero, so he can’t see their face at all. But there are two bags sitting next to him; a big sports bag and a plastic bag, filled with vegetables. 

“Who are you? And what are you doing here?”, Zero asks, his voice stern and full of anger. 

The figure in front of him flinches and turns around, looking at Zero. “Z-Zero…? Is that you?”, the reploid asks scared. 

“…Chi?”, Zero asks to confirm, wondering at the same time why he even bothered remembering his name. 

Chi nods affirmative and turns his entire body towards Zero, getting up carefully and dusting his jeans off of the snow. “What just happened? There was this weird reploid flying so close over my head, it scared the bolts out of me.”, he explains and picks his bags off the ground, still panting, due to the cold and the shock. 

“That’s what I was investigating right now, but I lost its reading. Do you have any information on where he went?”, Zero asks, noticing Chi’s slightly red nose and cheeks. He must be very cold. 

“I am sorry... I don’t know where it went... I fell down and when I looked up again, it was already gone...” 

“And what are you doing out in the cold? You are obviously not built for these temperatures, nor do you wear proper protective armor.” 

“Oh, I went shopping for my store. The only stores left open are pretty far away and to be honest, I gave my jacket to someone else, who seemed to need it more than me.”, Chi offers as a reply, his face getting redder again. Either from embarrassment, the cold or maybe some entirely different reason, Zero wasn’t sure. 

“Let’s get you back home then. Your system might get seriously damaged, if you stay out here for too long. Come with me.”, Zero orders, turning away before Chi could even answer. 

“B-but Zero! I live in the completely opposite way.”, Chi complains while trying to keep up with Zero. His joints already start hurting from the cold. 

Zero turns his face a little towards Chi without directly looking at him, but a smirk was visible from where Chi was walking. The first smile he’s ever seen on Zero. 

“I didn’t say we would be walking.” 


	3. Chapter 3

The ride on the Ride Chaser was both the scariest and most exciting thing Chi’s experienced in a while. After getting off the vehicle behind Zero, his gyromagnetic systems struggle to find the right footing the first few steps. But the smile on his face was so genuine and happy, Zero finds it hard not to smile himself. 

Chi went towards the door of his show, sliding the key into the keyhole, then stops. Zero wanted to get back to base, but watches Chi turn around again, waiting for him to say his goodbye. Which didn’t come. 

“Do you... want to come inside for a moment? Have some warm Energy booster with me?” 

Instead of leaving like he originally planned, something told him to go inside and spend time with that strange civilian reploid. So, the combatdroid turned off the engine of his vehicle and followed Chi inside. 

The cafè is completely dark, the chairs turned up and everything is quiet, apart from the echoing steps of the two droids. 

With a few switches, the interior lights up and the cafè comes back to life. Meanwhile Zero takes down two of the chairs on the table they enjoyed their company last time. 

He sits down and reads some more of the cringe that is written on the walls and wooden plates scattered through the cafè. _We grow with each_ _step_ _we t_ _ake. .. What’s that even supposed to mean..?_

Searching the phrase on the net only brought up more questions than answers, so he decides not to look deeper into it. Maybe Chi can answer some of his questions better. 

After storing away his bags, getting himself and Zero a blanket from the back room and finishing up their drinks, Chi joins Zero at the table, throws the blanket around zero and sits down, a big smile plastered on his face. 

“What?”, Zero asks. 

“You chose the same table you did weeks ago.” 

“And how is that so funny?” 

“I don’t know. I feel like I already knew you would choose this one again.” 

“You’re weird.” 

“I know.” 

Zero curls his fingers around the warm cup in front of him, relishing in the feeling of his joints finally getting defrosted again. The blanket was a bit overkill, but Zero won’t complain, it’s comfortable. 

They both silently enjoy their company for a while, until Zero speaks up again. 

“Soo.. Chi?” 

“Yeah?”, he replies, looking up at Zero like a curious kid. 

“What do these weird phrases on the walls mean? Like the one about growing with every step?” 

“Oh, these? Well..”, he supports his chin on his knuckles while leaning on the table, a very human gesture to signal thinking, “when I first installed them here, I didn’t know what they meant, but after talking to a couple of humans, I think I got the gist of it.” He pauses, probably to form a sentence that makes the most sense to Zero, “I think they mean, that every ‘step’ symbolizes a certain decision we do during our lifetime, like when you decided to enter my cafè. And ‘to grow’ is a metaphor for increasing your knowledge. So, I guess in your case we could say ‘you decided to come in here and because of that, you learned what that cheesy line on my wall means’.” 

“I feel more like I just wasted a lot of my memory capacities. I hope this knowledge will get lost when I defrag tonight.” 

Then there was it, the most genuine laugh Zero has ever heard. Not that smile he always wears to please him, but a laugh, a wonderful laugh that radiates so much happiness. Zero can’t help but to automatically smile too. 

“I know you didn’t mean to be funny, but you said it so disappointed, I couldn’t help but laugh.”, Chi explains, wiping an artifical tear off his face. _He cries, huh?_ _They really went all out on those human-like qualities on his model, I guess._

After emptying the cup, Zero gets up from his seat “I feel like I should go now. I’ve been intruding for too long. And besides, I still need to report that incident from today.” 

Chi also gets up from his seat, giving Zero one of his bright smiles. “Don’t worry, you didn’t intrude at all. If anything, I am happy you spent some time with me today.” 

“I will definitely come by again.”, Zero replies, stepping towards the door. 

“Uhm, Zero? Wait a moment.” 

Zero turns back around and looks at Chi, waiting for him to speak. Chi blushes slightly but looks at Zero head on. 

“Would you like to be my friend?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After messing up royally, Zero finds himself in a bit of a pickle.

_Would you like to be my friend?_

Zero lies in his charging pad, but entering sleep mode is a bigger feat than it should be. The moment Chi said those seven simple words, he was basically stunned. Never had anyone said these words to him before. He knows about the human concept of being friends, he thought of finding some before, but in the end, it always seemed like a waste of resources. 

Now being asked to be someone’s friend was a big surprise for him. He didn’t even manage to answer Chi at all, he just stood there, looking like the biggest idiot in Abel City, until Chi got so uncomfortable, that he wanted Zero to forget he said anything at all. 

How on Earth is he supposed to talk to Chi ever again? Scratch that, how is he supposed to even look at Chi?   
  
He tries once again to enter sleep mode, but every try only leads him back to thinking more about how he was probably the biggest jerk of all time. So, he decides to get up again. Maybe taking a walk through the base will take his mind off that topic. He closes the door to his room behind himself, looking down the empty hall that stretches in front of him. During daytime the halls bustle with life. Lots of reploids running down the hall, carrying papers, tools or sometimes just an energy tank for one of the commanders.   
  
He remembers clearly how his commander, Sigma, once tried to send Zero to get him an E-Tank. Even as a rookie, Zero stood up to Sigma in that moment, not wanting to be his personal butler just because he’s new.   
  
And Sigma actually complimented Zero for standing up to him. Then he sent someone else to go get his drink.   
  
_Drinks, huh...? Maybe I should go to the cafeteria._   
  
He rarely visits the cafeteria. Never has he bought anything there and he never met up with any people, so there’s no reason for him to go there.   
  
The automatic door slides open as soon as he steps in front of the cafeteria. The sound of the door alerts some of the reploids inside, which momentarily turns Zero into the center of attention. Tired eyes scrutinize him before falling back into quiet chatter. Most of them are hunters or navigators on break, sipping on some warmed-up energy boosters.   
  
Vending machines are scattered across one wall of the cafeteria. Zero chooses one of them randomly and approaches it, pressing the buttons on the interface with an exhausted expression decorating his face.   
  
_Maybe going to the cafeteria to get something to drink wasn’t the best idea to get my mind off of a café owner..._   
  
His mind wanders off again while watching the warm liquid in his newly acquired cup. That is, until a hand gets placed on his shoulder. He immediately flinches like the hand burned through his shoulder armor, nearly throwing away his cup and its contents.   
  
“woah. Zero, chill. It’s just me.”   
  
Zero stills and looks to his left, to see the familiar face of Storm Eagle right next to him. “Oh, good evening, Storm. I didn’t see you there.” _How did he manage to ambush me like this? Did I really space out that hard?_   
  
Now he finally feels his threat assessment kicking in.   
  
“I noticed. So, how come you’re still up? And visiting the cafeteria for once? Should I worry?”, Storm Eagle inquires, still managing to look worried with his bird-like features.   
  
“oh, uhm... No, I was just...”, he can’t tell him, instead he stays silent.   
  
“Well, how about we sit down for a moment. You seem rather troubled.” It wasn’t a question, Zero couldn’t decline sitting with him.   
  
  
Storm Eagle puts that dreaded hand back on Zeros shoulder and guides him to one of the tables, seating himself across from Zero.   
  
  
“It’s been a while since we’ve talked to each other. How have you been?”, Storm Eagle starts the conversation anew, balancing his head on his palm while leaning on the able.   
  
  
Zero just awkwardly sits at the table, both hands curled around his cup that sits on the table in front of him. Talking to colleagues has always been troublesome for Zero.   
Most people would think of Zero as a proud, strong and bold warrior, an unfathomable force to reckon with. Only a few people know that he’s actually just socially awkward, which is why he tends to be cold around people. Storm Eagle is one of the few people, that have immediately seen through Zeros façade. That just multiplied the awkwardness for Zero around him by a thousand.   
  
“Doing alright, nothing new. Still the same old story.”   
  
“Liar. You’re the last person to enter the cafeteria during daytime, even less so at two in the morning. So, what brings you here?”   
  
“I couldn’t sleep, okay? There’s nothing to it.”, there’s some edge to Zeros words.   
  
“Okay, no need to get upset. I won’t pry any longer. Just know that I'll listen, if you need some advice.”, Storm Eagle sighs, then pushes his chair back to get up.   
  
“Storm, wait... Maybe there is something I need to talk about.”, he admits, brings the cup to his mouth and takes a sip, immediately cringing at how bad it tastes compared to what Chi made for him.   
  
Storm Eagle sits back down and scoots closer to the table again, “Okay, I am all ears.”   
  
Zero looks at Storm Eagle like he just said the most ridiculous thing ever. An awkward stretch of silence halts the conversation.   
  
“No... No, you’re not. Storm, that would be disgusting.”   
  
Zero never understood how human metaphors work.   
  
“Zero, that was... actually, forget I said anything. What is it that troubles you?”   
  
“Well, there's this reploid I met, and he...”, Zero then stops. _Maybe talking to him about Chi isn’t the best idea._   
  
After a short period of silence, he continues, “Actually. I think I don’t need your help with it... And here, finish that for me, I'll go defrag now.”   
  
Zero gets up from his seat and pushes his drink towards Storm Eagle, then leaves.   
  
Once back in his room, he sits down on his charging pad, which is, apart from a desk and a chair, the only furniture he owns. He’s a heavily armed combatdroid, a warbot, a weapon of mass destruction. Why would he need any furniture? He doesn’t need it; it will get dusty and be a huge waste of space. Like most of the human concepts.   
  
Having friends is just another one of these concepts. Without care, it will get dusty and break. So why is it that he wants to be friends with Chi? What’s so special about that civilian model, that just serves tea and biscuits to humans and reploids alike?   
  
Is it that weird feeling he gets when seeing him smile? That spark, that runs all the way from his head, through his spine, to his feet.   
  
Or maybe the way he looks at him all flustered when Zero is looking him in the eyes for seemingly too long?   
  
  
_Or maybe... Maybe I just like him?_   
  
  
As if hit by lightning he stands back up again, “I have to tell him. Now.”   
Zero rushes through the corridors he sees every day when heading out to patrol or investigate another Maverick attack, but this time his objective is something entirely different. Mission: ‘Become Friends’ starts now.   
He sprints into the hangar, finding his trusty Ride Chaser where it’s always parked and immediately hops on, starting the engine.   
  
Then Alia contacts him through his comm, “Zero?! What are you doing?! Why are you starting a Ride Chaser unauthorized ?!”   
  
Her sleepy, yet undeniably upset voice startles him for a moment and he curses under his breath.   
  
Zero presses the palm of his hand against the side of his helmet, “Something urgent came up. I am borrowing it for a while. Please cover for me for two hours.”   
  
“Did you just say please...?”, her voice is getting calmer with every word, “this better be important then. I’ll make up a story, but you definitely owe me one.”   
  
“Sure.”   
  
He then speeds out of the hangar, heading for District 7, the shopping district. To a small café named ‘Potential’.   
  
When arriving at the café, his whole body is already frozen. It’s certainly cold during daytime, but nighttime exceeded his expectations by far. Sitting on a Ride Chaser doesn’t exactly make it any more pleasant.   
  
Even blinking hurts now. That’s what he gets for not being able to wait.   
  
After turning off the engine and dismounting his vehicle, he storms over to the glass entrance of the café, that is completely covered in darkness. Only the faint light emitted by his gems bring brightness into this murky shadow. The snow crunches under his feet and his breath fogs up the air around him.   
  
With one deep breath, he collects all the determination he needs and knocks on the glass door as hard as he can without damaging the fragile material.   
  
After knocking for two minutes and thirty-nine seconds, he counted, a beam of light peaks through the door behind the counter inside the café. A small figure pushes the door open and rushes towards the entrance, where Zero stands.   
  
Chi is wearing something different this time around. Instead of the hoodie, he is now wearing a blue oversized shirt and his legs are only covered by some thin shorts. His hair is in a bigger disarray than usual and his eyes look like his systems just came online. Which they probably did.   
  
He frantically opens the front entrance, nearly dropping the keys in doing so. As soon as the lock turned open, Zero pushes the door in and barely avoids hitting Chi with the door in his haste.   
  
“CHI!”   
  
“ZERO?!”   
  
“YES! YES, I WANT TO BE YOUR FRIEND!”   
  
Then silence. Followed by more silence. Being screamed in the face at around three in the morning leaves Chi looking like a deer in headlights, but then his features soften again.   
  
And then he starts laughing.   
  
“Zero. Did you really just wake me in the middle of the night to tell me this?”, Chi asks the obvious and Zero just answers by nodding, suddenly realizing that, in fact, this was a bad idea.   
  
“It’s okay, don’t worry. But come in first, so we can close the door. I am freezing here.”, Chi offers and steps aside, letting Zero pass him.   
  
Chi locks the door again and turns towards Zero, “Glad we’re friends now. Even though you could’ve also told me that in 5 hours or so.”   
  
“Sorry. I couldn’t sleep because of it.”, Zero admits a bit sheepishly.   
  
“So, you thought I shouldn’t sleep either?”, Chi jokes, but his smile drops when he notices Zero took it seriously, “No, no. Don’t worry. It’s okay. It’s good you told me.”   
  
When Zero doesn’t continue the conversation, probably due to him being a bit awkward again, even though his face couldn’t be more unimpressed, Chi continues, “Soo... You don’t actually intend to go back into the cold to return home, right?”   
  
“I can’t stay away from the Hunter Base for too long without permission.”   
  
Chi crosses his arms in front of his chest, looking a bit like a pouting child. “As if I will let you go out there again.”   
  
“What else am I supposed to do? I can’t just contact Base and tell them I'll be gone till morning.”   
  
“This isn’t about you being gone because you feel like it, this is about your safety. You’ll freeze, if you go out there again. You’ll stay at my place till morning.”, Chi argues, already pulling Zero by the arm as to follow him.   
  
Zero sighs, then activates his comm line with Alia again, while letting himself get dragged behind the counter. “If you can cover me till morning, I'll get you anything you like.”   
  
“...Anything?”   
  
“Anything.”   
  
“Okay. I’ll get back to that offer. And you... have fun, whatever you’re doing right now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOah , the amount of love i get from you guys is really something else!  
> Thank you for the kind comments and kudos!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Zero is clueless and and Chi is trying to explain stuff. xD
> 
> This entire Chapter is purely made of fluff xD

The sound of something clashing on the ground startles all of Zero’s systems back into action and he finds himself standing next to the bed he slept on, ready for combat. When realizing how silly he must look and that there’s absolutely no serious threat around him, he relaxes himself again.

His internal clock tells him it’s around 6:30am right now, the completion status for his defragmentation is at 47% and his energy level at 68%. _That’s what you get for resting for only three hours._

Zero rolls his shoulders while booting his system properly and looks back at the bed he slept on. _That thing is definitely built for humans. Do all reploids outside the Hunter Base charge in these? I sure hope not._  
That was his first time only charging via cable, and he definitely felt like a smartphone, not something he needs to experience again. But the softness of the mattress sure had its perks.

Focusing back on what startled him out of sleep mode, he leaves Chi's bedroom to try and find the smaller reploid. Seeing his living room in daylight for the first time, he notices how cramped everything actually is.  
The room itself isn’t that small, just the amount of useless stuff in there that make it harder to navigate through the room, without accidently bumping into something.  
Potted plants hang from the ceiling and decorate pretty much every corner in the room. More of those cringy human metaphors and motivators are scattered on the walls and there’re SO many books. One entire wall of the living room is just one big bookshelf, filled to the brim with books that vary drastically in condition. Some look like a simple gust of wind could destroy them, while others are just a little dusty but otherwise fine. Seeing actual books is a rare sight during this era, everything is usually stored on data pads. A lot more convenient in Zeros opinion.  
An old-fashioned couch has been placed into the middle of the room, a few blankets halfhazardly thrown on it. This is probably were Chi spent the rest of the night, so Zero could have his bed.

The sound of something humming quietly brings Zero back to reality. He looks around, trying to find the source of the sound. He finds a door, hidden behind some weird stingy curtain, that’s slightly ajar. Above it was the word ‘kitchen’ written in barely readable cursive.

Beyond the door he can see Chi standing in front of a counter, preparing what seems to be one of the sweets he offers at his café, still only wearing the oversized shirt and shorts. A strange buzzing sound escapes Chi and Zero can’t put his finger on what exactly he’s doing.

“Chi, what is that weird sound you make?”, Zero asks with a stern voice, startling Chi in the process. The sound stops immediately as the smaller reploid turns around, looking at Zero with a disapproving look.

“Zero! Don’t sneak up on me like that! You scared me.”, Chi complains and puts his hands on his hips, scolding Zero.

“Chi, the sound. What was that?”, Zero continues, ignoring Chi’s scolding. He walks up to the brown haired reploid and scrutinizes him intently.

Chi relaxes a bit after taking a deep breath, still feeling a bit intimidated by Zeros stare, “Sound? What sound?”

“That weird buzzing sound you made earlier. I think something might be damaged in your system, let me have a look at it.”, he inquires, reaching for Chis head to examine him.

Chi’s face burns up, coloring his cheeks a vibrant red hue and he reflexively steps away from Zero to escape his hands. “Zero!! There’s nothing wrong with me, I am fine! I was just humming!”

“Humming...?”, Zero asks, puzzled. His hands drop back to his sides as he’s trying to figure out why anyone would make such a weird noise on purpose.

“Yes, humming. It’s music, Zero. Don’t tell me you don't know what music is?”

“I know what music is. It’s vocal or instrumental sounds, combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony and expression of emotion. Humans enjoyed making music for centuries.”

“...You just looked that up, didn’t you?”

Zero avoided eye contact for a split second, which tells Chi exactly what he needs to know. He walks past Zero and opens one of the drawers, pulling a tiny device out. After walking back to Zero, Chi grabs his right hand and places the tiny device in his palm. “I am fairly certain you will enjoy this. You should try it when coming back home from a stressing workday or something. Just make sure not to lose it or break it, it’s... well, it’s very important to me.”

Zero takes a closer look at the device in his hand. It looks simple. Just a rectangle with a few buttons and an outdated AUX-outlet, a cable that separates into two plugged in. _It will definitely produce some kind of sound, or... ‘music’, as Chi calls it._

This old thing is important to Chi, but he lends it to Zero anyway. Something in Zeros chest feels very warm, so he starts a selfscan, in case his ventilation got problems. The scan comes out green.

“I will protect it.”, Zero exclaims, still looking at the device in his hand, his eyes very determined. Chi gives him an approving smile “I'll expect nothing less from a Maverick Hunter.”, then he starts to laugh.

Something must’ve been funny, so Zero tries smiling back at him, the way Chi always does, when they’re talking.

For a moment, Chi stops, staring up at Zero, who starts feeling self-conscious, but smiles through it. Then Chi breaks out in even louder laughter. Water drops form in the corners of Chi’s eyes, usually an indication for a human to be very sad, yet there’s no sign for Chi to be sad. Zero is genuinely concerned for his newly acquired friend now.

“Zero.”, more laughter, then he wipes away the water at his eyes, “Oh, dear Asimov. What was that? You looked so forced!”

Heat creeps up to Zeros cheeks. He starts another selfscan. “I thought it was appropriate. You always do that when we’re talking.”

“Aww, Zero, you don’t need to force a smile, just because I smile during our conversations. I’ve seen your genuine smile before and it suits you a lot better than what you did just now. Just let it come naturally.”

“You do know that nothing about us is ‘natural’, right?”

“I do. But... Well, it’s hard to explain. I am sure you’ll understand in time.”, then Chi smiles again. A smile that just seems to belong on his face.

Zeros internal clock hits 7am. He told Alia to cover for him till morning, but he should probably still try to be back early.

“Chi, I gotta go now.”, he says out of nowhere.

Chi looks up to him, his smile faltering ever so slightly, “Already? That’s a shame, I thought we could have breakfast together, but I guess you’ve got some pretty important duties.”

“We can break fast next time, though I am not sure I necessarily want to try that one.”, Zero replies dryly, already looking for the exit.

An amused chuckle escapes Chi and he covers his mouth with his hand, “yeah yeah, Zero. C’mon, I'll show you to the door.”

Zero follows the smaller reploid back into the living room, through another door, that connects the living room to a smaller, secluded room. Chi then stops in front of a rather different looking door. “This is my front door. If you want to visit me at 3 in the morning again, come to this entrance instead. It’s less of a hassle to open this one and it won’t make you look like some weird thug that wants to break into my café.”

Chi laughs again, but Zero looks a bit offended. “I am a Hunter, not a thug.”

“I know, sorry. And please don’t visit me at 3 in the morning ever again.”

Chi opens the door for Zero and smiles at him while he exits the door. With an exchange of goodbye’s coming from both androids, the door closes again, leaving Zero on the snow-covered porch to an entrance right next to the café, through which he entered the building not too long ago.

He mounts his Ride Chaser after dusting off the snow that settled on it during his absence and heads back towards the Hunter Base. During his ride he activates his comm line with Alia, knowing she should already be up and running. “Alia, I am on my way back to Base.”

“About time, Zero. Sigma is already very suspicious and I am running out of excuses, so you better move your pretty metal ass over here. What were you even doing?”

_Yup, as upset as expected._

“I was visiting a... Wait, my pretty what?”

“Don’t change topic.”

“I was visiting a friend.”

“THAT is the entire reason for taking an unauthorized vehicle at around two in the morning AND pushing me into deceiving our seniors?”

“Affirmative.”

“That deal between us is definitely still running and I will personally make sure your bank account is going to be as empty as your soul.”

“Understood.”

A small smile is spread across Zeros face on the whole way back to base.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never thought i would actually be so invested in this story, since i intended to just write a few chapters out of boredom. xD  
> But damn, all your kind feedback and kudos really left me speechless. quq  
> so i will try and fulfill all your XZero needs and give you the fluff you deserve during these hard times xD
> 
> If you're bored (like me, basically always) or interested in chatting with me on discord (idk, to give me ideas/inspiration or just to talk or something), feel free to send me a friend request x9
> 
> Sturmius#9759
> 
> as always i hope you liked this chapter and stay tuned for the next one!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Zeros bank account gets emptier, Alia has some clues and Zero makes some decisions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tiny warning i guess?   
> Description of how Zero takes off his upper armor parts (in a sfw way, but i will warn, just in case)  
> if you're uncomfortable about that, read until he gets to his room, then skip to were the lines are! 8)

When arriving back at the hangar in the Hunter Base, Zero is already greeted by Sigma standing in front of the entrance, his arms crossed and expression blank. Alia is hiding behind Sigma, throwing a smile and a thumbs up towards him. Why is she signaling that everything’s alright? This seems like a more than bad scenario. What did she tell him?

After repressing his uncertainty and keeping his facial expression trained, he dismounts his vehicle and approaches Sigma confidently.

“Commander.”, he acknowledges him and salutes. Sigma nods , his expression still unreadable. “Zero. Next time you have trouble with your Ride Chaser, inform me immediately, so I won’t try and dispatch you for a mission while your bike gets repaired.”

“Understood. It won’t happen again, Sir.” Zeros posture straightens even further, if even possible.

Sigma turns around, which causes Alia , who was still behind him, to salute as well. Sigma offers her a smile, then continues to leave, probably for his office.

As soon as he’s out of sight, both Alia and Zero drop their hands back to their sides and relax their posture again.

“Do you have any idea how scared I was when lying to Sigma? Don’t ever ask me to do that again, or I will quit being your navigator.”, Alia threatens and walks the rest of the way over to Zero.

“You’re the only one that doesn’t annoy me as much. Finding a suitable replacement would be a pain, so you better stay where you are.”

“Awww, sadly that was one of the nicest things you ever told me. You’re such a charmer. I will forever cherish this memory.”

Zero starts following the same path Sigma took not long ago. “What did you tell Sigma when he asked you where I am?”

“I just told him you had some trouble with your Ride Chaser, because the temperatures messed with the electronics during yesterdays mission. You were getting it repaired by Douglas and you were on a test ride.”, Alia explains, barely able to keep up with Zero’s walking speed.

Zero nods affirmative, casually navigating through the maze that is the Hunter Base.

“Zero? Why don’t you tell me about that new friend of yours? I helped you, so I deserve to know why this someone is important enough to the Red Ripper, that he ditches his job.”

“He isn’t any of your concern.”

Alia picks up her pace for a few steps to walk in front of Zero and block his path, looking at him with knit eyebrows. She rests both hands on her waist as she leans forward, “Nawwww, Zero, you’re no fun at all. But remember our deal. I’ll meet you at the cafeteria at 2pm, okay? And make sure to wear something casual.”

“Why do we have to meet in order for you to waste my money? Can’t you just, like… tell me what you want and I’ll pay for it? I don’t know if I even have any civilian clothes. I have never taken off my armor, ever.”, Zero replies exasperated.

“Noo, that would be lame. And don’t worry, while you were gone, I borrowed some clothes from a friend. You’re similar in height and build, so it should fit like a glove. I put them on the desk in your boring room.”

“How did you even get inside my room?”

“Oh, dear. I am your navigator, I probably know more about yourself than you do. But I have to go now. Navigate some rookie through his first solo mission. After that, I made sure to clear our schedules, so we got all the time we need. See ya!”

And with that she is gone. Zero didn’t even have time to comprehend what just happened.

He goes back to where his room is, enters his password and opens the door. Upon entering the room, he immediately notices the clothes on his desk and a tall mirror, that now decorates his room. A handwritten sticky note is attached to it.

‘You really need more furniture. Your lack of décor doesn’t suit your design, see?’

Zero rips the note off of the reflective material and discards it immediately. This girl sure got some nerves.

Zero puts the device he got from Chi inside one of the drawers in his desk, then looks back at the mirror, staring at the reflection, that is mirroring his every move. This is the first time he actively looked at himself. He already knew what he looked like, but he’s never really taken a proper look at himself before.

He slowly turns his head and body from side to side, then his attention is brought back to the clothes on his desk. “I don’t even know if taking off my armor is a feature I have…”

He touches the fabric of the clothes, rubbing it between this thumb and index finger. It’s soft and stretchy. It might be coincidence, that the shirt is red, but Zero won’t complain about it. Well, I guess it won’t hurt to try. If even Storm Eagle and Blizzard Wolfang can take off their armor, it should be no problem for me, right?

Zero reaches for his helmet, pulling it up to reveal the hair that was hidden underneath. Messy bangs fall into his face, each strand bent in a weird angle due to being stuck under his helmet for years. He places the helmet on his desk and carefully releases his ponytail. His hair drops down over his shoulders, not a single knot or tangle in his lengths.

Then he eyes his chest plate, looking for a mechanism to release it. When sticking his fingers underneath the plates, he finds a little mechanism on both the right and the left side. When releasing it, the front and back piece of his armor drift apart from one another, giving him the option to just slide it over his head. Which he does after a couple seconds of contemplation.

He is now left with a thin layer of gray fabric, that is covering his upper body. He takes off the guards on his arms and carefully slides the thin material off his arms and chest.

Nothing seems out of the ordinary, which is a good thing, considering he wasn’t even sure if he could take off his armor at all, but his creator must’ve had something to compensate. Zero has broad shoulders and looks to be fairly muscular, though he doesn’t even have muscles to begin with.

He takes off the rest of his armor, replacing it with the thin garment he got from Alia. A red shirt, some black jeans, simple black sneakers, a thick jacket and a scarf. At least she doesn’t want him to freeze to death. He decides not to put on the scarf and jacket for now, but the rest seems to fit pretty well.

His hair would probably annoy him, if it keeps falling on his shoulders and pressing on his back like this, so he puts it back into a ponytail.

His internal clock tells him it’s 8:17am. Still a lot of time till he has to meet with Alia. Without his armor, going to the sparring area sounds like a less than good idea, same goes for the simulator. His energy levels are also just at 62%.

So he decides to go for a nap.

__________________

Zero reawakens at 1:40pm. Perfect. Just on time for his doom. He swings his legs off his charging pad and gets up, already dreading what Alia has planned. He grabs the scarf and jacket and leaves.

As soon as the door to his room opens, several people stop what they’re doing to look at Zero. He really does draw a lot of attention recently. Seeing him without armor is a rare sight, so he doesn’t blame them for staring.

When arriving at the cafeteria, he can already see Alia sitting at one of the tables. She’s wearing a pink turtleneck sweater, some tight fitted black jeans and pink boots. Like everyone else in the room, she also looks up at him as soon as he enters the room. But she’s the only one that starts laughing, the others aren’t brave enough to laugh at Zero.

He walks up to her and looks at her with a stern expression, definitely not as amused as she is, “you done now?”

“No, wait, I gotta-”, she laughs more, “O-okay, I think I am done now. It’s just so strange, seeing you in casual clothes. You look like a completely different reploid. But don’t worry, you look good.”

“I don’t care about my appearance, so tell me why I have to wear this junk in the first place.”

Alia smiles brightly, as if he just said some magic words, then gets up, “Because we’re going shooopping!”

“Which can’t be done in armor, because...?”

“Because you’d look like you’re on duty when wearing your armor in a shopping center. I don’t want people to interrupt our fun.”

“We’re Maverick Hunters, we ARE always on duty.”

“Shhh, we’re not. I told Sigma we would take your Ride Chaser, so we’re good to go.”, Alia leaves the table, slips into her jacket and walks towards the exit, “C’mon, let’s go. I wanna spend as much time wasting your money as possible. The sooner we get there, the better.”

Zero follows her to the hangar, pulling on his own jacket before noticing something, “Alia? Aren’t shops closed because of the cold?”

“Yeaah, most are. But the big shopping center in District 7 reopened a few days ago. They couldn’t afford being closed for so long, so they upgraded the building and reopened. Lucky me.”

“District 7, huh?” At the hangar Zero got on his Ride Chaser with Alia behind him.

“Do you like District 7?”

“I think so. It’s were my friend lives.”, Zero says absentmindedly while starting the engine and making sure Alia holds onto him properly.

“Finally, some information about them. I’ve been wondering when you’re going to tell me. So, are they a guy or a girl?”

“He’s a guy, not sure why that’s of interest for you...”

“And... Is he hot?”

Zero starts driving, so they’re continuing their conversation via their comm line.

“I’ve never checked his temperature, so I don’t know.”

“Ew, don’t do that, that’s creepy. I mean, is he aesthetically pleasing? Does he look good?”

“I don’t know, maybe?”

“Maybe? That’s the most disappointing answer, ever. If he lives there, maybe we can pay him a visit later and I get to know him. You don’t mind if I snatch your boyfriend, right?”

“Alia, you’re speaking in riddles. But sure.”

With Alias navigation, they arrive at their destination. Some poor reploid is shoveling the snow away from the entrance. Judging by how much it snows lately, this must be the third or fourth time he tries to rid the entrance of the snow masses.

Alia practically runs into the shopping center, not just because of the excitement, but also because it’s very cold outside. She’s been using Zeros hair as some kind of blanket during the ride, much to his dismay. His hair isn’t just for his aesthetic, it’s also equipped with millions of sensory nerves. They’re basically his second pair of eyes. Having someone cling to it messes with his senses a lot.

He follows her inside, as to not lose her. The amount of lights and advertisements flashing on screens sure is overwhelming. There must be at least 100 shops here. If she doesn’t find anything in 20 stores, I'll go home.

Walking through the stores that sell decorations and other silly knickknacks, ones that Chi would certainly like, wasn’t that much of a challenge. Alia would just buy a calendar, another scented candle or ‘something the girls would love’, whatever that entails. The true challenge were fashion stores.

He’s heard many stories in the halls of the Hunter Base. The dreaded fashion stores. Girls can apparently spend hours in them and guys have to compliment them for every piece they try on. At first, he thought those guys must be exaggerating, but then the stories kept piling up.

And all of them were true. Alia found way too many pieces and Zero has to evaluate them all.

He also learned that day, that telling the truth is forbidden in these halls. Yes, that color looked horrid on her, and yes, he told her.

Bad decision.

She did buy it anyway. And lots more. He stopped counting after the 8th bag around his arm and he still isn’t sure how he’s going to transport them back to base safely.

When walking past a florist, he stops though. He looks at the plants and suddenly remembers how much Chi seems to like plants. Alia noticed Zero stopped after a few seconds and goes back to him.

“Flowers... Do you like them?”

“No, I don’t really like them, but Chi, my friend, does.”

“Wanna buy some for him?”, Alia suddenly has a very sly smirk on her face, which Zero doesn’t like. So, he decides to keep walking without answering her question. Everything he would've said in this moment will most likely used against him in some way.

Alia catches up to him and they resume their shopping spree.

After buying what seemed like the entire inventory of a fashion store, they both sat down at one of the benches available. Behind them is a water fountain that seems to dance with the quiet music that’s filling the center.

“Zero? I forgot to tell you something.”

“hm?”, he seems rather disinterested and tries stuffing the smaller bags into bigger ones to save some space.

“I got the results for the mysterious reploid you were chasing yesterday.”, she says quietly, leaning back, looking at one of the advertisements on the screens.

Zero shifts his attention immediately to her, “What did you find out?”

“Well, not much actually. They’re not in the Hunter or Maverick register, nor in the list of people that own authorized firearms. So, they either heavily customized themselves without permission, or they’re a Maverick that has not yet been discovered.”

“That’s all?”

“No, I actually found some forums that were talking about them. Witnesses have seen them on multiple occasions. Some have taken blurry pictures, none of them good enough to work with. Apparently, they are working during the evening and nighttime. Some say they enter a building, then escort someone out of it. It happens very fast and silent.”

“And none of them considered telling the Hunters?”

“Some tried, but they’re all being told the issue is already solved, or that we’re already working on the case.”

“Something’s not right. That reploid is heavily armed and very dangerous, we can’t just let someone like that run around and kidnap people. What if it’s trying to build an army with the people it takes?”, Zero shifts on the bench, resting his elbows on his knees, frustrated.

“We really need to investigate further. Maybe we should tell Sigma?”

“Wait before talking to him about it. I feel like Sigma is hiding something. Why else would he deceive the people that try to contact us about it... He knows something we don’t. And I am not sure we’re allowed to know about it. Maybe we’re able to capture that reploid and can ask it directly. If capturing isn’t possible, I’ll kill it. “

Alia leans forward, looking at Zero in shook, “Kill it? We don’t have any solid proof. If you kill it, you’ll be seen as a Maverick.”

“Which is better than having such a dangerous reploid around. If that thing attacks our base, I am sure it might be able to kill most of us. You saw my readings; you know I am right.”

Alia is at a loss of words and her expression of shock slowly morphs into an expression of sadness. “Just... don’t do anything reckless. I like being your navigator. I would miss you.”

Zero gets up and looks at her, a smile decorates his face. The first time she sees him smile. Without a word, she starts smiling, too, and gets up. “Don’t forget my bags, we’re going to visit your friend now, and then I have some more investigating to do.” Her voice oozes of confidence.

And with that ‘Secret Mission: Unknown Target X’ starts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter got a little bit longer. I just had no idea where to end without making it feel awkward. but i think i found a good place to end the chapter at 8)  
> And c'mon, give me some credit for the mission name, it's creative, okay?? quq
> 
> My offer to add me on discord is still up!   
> Sturmius#9759


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Gardenia symbolizes purity and sweetness. They indicate secret love. They convey joy. They tell the receiver you are lovely. uwu  
> And Chi knows it.

Before Zero had the chance to leave that damned shopping center and its horrible fashion stores, Alia had to make him wait at the entrance. Apparently, she had forgotten to buy something important. _Maybe more stuff 'the girls would love'._   
  
When she did come back, she was holding something in her hand. It was neatly packaged in gift wrap and decorated with a ribbon. Judging by the way she holds it, it must be something fragile.    
  
“Are you done now?”, he asks, clearly sick of this place.   
  
“Yes, I think I got everything I wanted. How are we going to transport all of this now?”   
  
“We’ll improvise, like always.”   
  
  
They ended up stuffing as much in the room underneath the seating of the Chaser, the ones that didn’t fit got squished between Alia and Zero during the ride. Only the little package she got last minute is carefully held by her.    
  
With just a few minutes on the Chaser, they arrive at Chi’s café, which is only a small number of blocks away from the shopping center. Zero parks right in front of the entrance, already seeing Chi through the glass door. He seems to be talking to someone via comm, that pure smile on his face again. He laughs for a moment, a view that makes Zeros mind go blank for a moment, concentrating on how his shoulders jump up and down with his laugh, the way his eyebrows knit together and the way his strands of hair bounce with the motion.  
  
“-ro? Hello-o?”, Alia already got off the Chaser, standing next to it. Her voice pulls him back into reality, “Zero? Did you just short circuit on me? I don't want to watch you space out while freezing out here.”    
  
“No, no. I hear you. Let’s go.”   
  
“Wait, Zero. I want you to give this to your friend. I am sure he’ll appreciate it.”, she hands the gift in her arms to Zero.    
  
“Really? What did you even buy?”   
  
“That’s a secret. You’ll just say something like ‘i thought of you, I hope you like it’, then he’ll open it and ‘tadaaaah’ you’ll be able to see what’s inside.”   
  
She winks at him, which to him just looked like she lost control of her eye for a moment. He doesn’t have any time to voice his concerns though, because she is already grabbing the bags that didn’t make it inside the Ride Chaser and starts for the entrance. She pushes the door open, and a little bell chimes. _Weird, that wasn’t here last time I visited._   
  
Chi immediately stops his conversation and shifts his attention to the door. He sees Zero and immediately beams at him, ending the call in a flash, though the girl, that seems to accompany him, dampens his excitement a little. Both Zero and Alia didn’t notice his smile wavering.    
  
“Hello! Zero, it’s nice to see you again. Who did you bring with you today?”

“Hey! I am Alia, Zero’s navigator.  Zero thought we could  stop by, since we were  in the area. ”

Chi comes  around the counter to  greet Alia properly and holds out his hand, “I am Chi, it’s very nice to meet you.” 

Chi seems to be a bit smaller than Alia, but most reploids are, so she’s already used to it.  She gladly takes his hand with her free one and shakes it, “A pleasure.”

Zero just awkwardly stands next to them and waits  till Chi looks at him. Which the smaller  reploid does after letting go of  Alia’s hand. “ I thought of you, I hope you like it.”,  Zero recalls  hastily  what Alia said earlier and  shoves the gift towards Chi. The fact that Zero literally just repeated what Alia said earlier, makes it hard for her not to laugh out loud in that moment. 

“O-oh! For me?  Why would you buy me a gift?”, Chi asks surprised , hesitantly taking the gift from Zero’s hands. 

“I don’t know.  When I saw it, I had no choice but to  gift it to you. ”, Zero answers,  throwing a grim expression towards Alia, who just twirls a strand of hair around her index finger, pretending not to know anything about it.

“Come sit with us  and open it. ”, Alia suggests,  already choosing one of the tables in the café. 

They all sit down at the table,  after both Zero and Alia take off their jackets and drape them over the back of the ir chair . Alia puts her  bags down next to her seat and  watches Chi with a knowing smile, that  makes Zero a little bit nervous.  _ What did she buy? Please don’t be something bad. _

Chi carefully opens the  gift,  making sure not to  crinkle and rip the paper too much, so he could reuse the wrapping. Zero leans closer with every  second, still hoping Alia didn’t buy anything that may cause his doom. 

Once the wrapping came off, a small potted flower sits on the table,  stretching it’s petals towards the ceiling. “ A white Gardenia…?”, Chi whispers, his face  slowly turning red in hue.  _ Is he angry? Are those bad flowers?  _

But then Chi beams at Zero , who still looks a little freaked out , “Thank you so much. They’re really pretty. I will put them on the counter later, so everyone can see them.” 

Zero visibly relaxes at that , but his chest starts to heat up.  He initiates a  selfscan , but like the last time his ventilation seemingly failed, it comes out green again.  _ Weird _ .

“You’re welcome.” , he says and looks over to Alia, who just grins at him , like she knows something he doesn’t . 

“So, you two went shopping, I assume?”, Chi asks both of them at the same time,  curling his fingers around the pot . 

“Yeah, Zero  owed me, because I helped him out a bit, so I dragged him into the shopping center to buy stuff with his moeny.  He did pretty well , considering it was his first time in a shopping center .”

_ And I sure as hell don’t want to experience that again.  _

“ Would you mind if I tag along next time you’re going ?  I would love to go there with some friends . And no worries, I will pay for myself ,  well, if I am allowed to come along of course.” , Chi rambles, his smile nearly blinding .

“ Of course we  don’t mind. We’d be glad to have you with us. Rapunzel over here isn’t much of a talker and  gets annoyed really fast,  so I would love to have someone around, that’s actually able to do Smalltalk.”

Before Zero could bite back at Alia for calling him Rapunzel, Chi already answers, “Well, I’ve always had great company with Zero.  What you just said really doesn’t do him justice.”

“You do know I sit next to you, right? You’re talking about me like I am not here.” , Zero cuts in , feeling  a little out of place.

“Aww Zero, I was just kidding. Don’t worry.”, Alia  laughs .

Chi notices Zeros drop in mood and tries to  save it before  “So, can I offer you something to drink? Of course it’s on the house, so choose whatever you like.”

Both Alia and Zero choose a drink , which Chi provides after a short wait. 

“Chi?”, Alia  gets his attention, sipping at her drink. 

“ Hm ?”

“Say, did you hear about a  reploid that wanders around during evening and nighttime to kidnap people?”

“Alia, don ’t-“, but Zero cuts himself off, when Chi starts talking.

“What a weird question. But no, I don’t think  I’ve ever heard or seen anything  about a  reploid like that. But I can keep an eye open, if you’d like. ” , Chi ponders, holding his index finger up to his chin. 

“Alia, you shouldn’t  involve him  in this. It’s way too dangerous. ” , Zero argues, p lacin g both fists on the table.

“But we need  more information. ”, she crosses her legs and pulls her drink up to her face, “it’s not like I asked him to fight them for us.”

Chi looks back and forth between Alia and Zero ,  ” Uhm ,  it’s okay . I really don’t mind that you asked. Besides I am merely a  serving  reploid . Even if I wanted to help in battle,  I wouldn’t have the necessary combat capabilities to do so. . .”, he stops for a second, “but I want to help you. I am usually outside during evening, handing out  the leftover of my  café to people in need . I can ask them about it. Maybe I’ll find someone that could help us.”

The look in Chi’s eyes  are  determined, no sign of doubt, he is willing to help  the two hunters .  Alia and Zero look at each other,  practi cally having a  staredown , un til Zero sighs in defeat.  Alia’s face lights up a t that , then she  turns towards Chi, “Welcome to our team, buddy!”

The three of them arrange a private  comm line, to share their information  more efficiently . Ali a explains their situation thoroughly and Chi seems to  m ake mental notes of it.  Getting Chi involved with this was something Zero wanted to avoid, but as long as he’s  staying out of danger, it should be fine. It will be fine.

Both Zero and Alia  grab their belongings  once they finished their drinks , wanting to head back , as it’s starting to get dark outside again . 

“ Uhm , wait a second before you go . It won’t take long , I promise. ”, Chi begs them and rushes behind the counter, scribbling something  on a small piece of paper. He goes back to Zero,  his face  blushing in the cutest shades of red and pink, t hen presses the paper into  Zero’s hand ,  “Okay, now  I can let you go.”

After leaving the café, Alia immediately snatches the paper from Zeros grip to examine it. “ Ooooh , I guess someone got a channel number for Chi’s  private comm line. He must have a little crush on you. ” , she teases, which doesn’t seem to trigger anything in Zero. Boring.

She gives back the number after her failed attempt to fluster him , which he immediately  saves into his comm. He also sets up a reminder to look up what  ‘having a crush’ means.  Nevertheless there’s this warmth in his chest again.  Zero doesn’t initiate a  selfscan this time around. 

He already knows it would come out green.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for making it this far in my story! We breached 10k words with this chapter!! in just 10 days ôuô   
> I hope you enjoy reading my fic and i am really thankful for your comments and kudos! it really means the world to me <3
> 
> as always, if you want to talk to me, just add me on disocrd x9  
> Sturmius#9759
> 
> Again, thank you so much! (does anyone even read the notes tho??? xD)


	8. Chapter 8

Several days have passed, but there’s still no sign as to where the mysterious kidnapper is. Even that forum online is wondering where that weird Maverick went all of a sudden, or if the Hunters finally caught it. One reason for it to stop showing up might be the snowstorm that is currently plaguing Abel City. Or maybe it somehow found out someone is looking for it, so it is trying to lay low for a while. Zero would most certainly notice being watched by such an ominous presence, so he’s sure he can’t be the one being watched by it. Which only leaves Alia and Chi. 

Zero turns absentmindedly on his desk chair, spinning a pencil between his fingers. 

If you look up the official hunter register on the internet; you can easily find out that Alia is Zero’s navigator. She would be an easy target. But she rarely leaves the Base. That Maverick would only be able to observe her, if it was part of the Hunters, which is highly unlikely. There would also be the option, that it is able to listen in on their comm frequency, but a good navigator would notice someone else snooping in. Zero trusts in Alia’s skills, she never failed as a navigator. 

Which only leaves Chi. 

A cold shudder flows through Zero’s endoskeleton, all the way down his spine. A weird feeling, which leaves him on edge. What if Chi is being watched by a Maverick that is able to destroy the whole city by itself? That innocent civilian Reploid, completely void of the danger that surrounds him. 

It would only make sense. As of late, Zero has often been seen in Chi’s café. That Maverick is probably smart enough to draw a connection between the two. And it only stopped appearing right after Chi joined the search party. Maybe it was somehow listening in on the conversation they had at the café. Which would explain why it is trying to avoid attention now. It knows it’s being hunted. 

Chi is most certainly the weakest part of the team, and he is also the easiest target, due to him living alone in the city. That Maverick could easily take Chi hostage and try to blackmail Zero. 

The snapping of wood brings him back into reality. He looks down at his hand and finds one half of the pencil he was playing with. The other half fell down on the floor, lead and wooden splinters scattered on the hard, cemented floor. 

All this thinking about Chi being victim of a Maverick attack makes him sick. Sitting at his desk suddenly feels like the wrong thing to do, so he gets up, taking a deep breath in hopes to calm his systems. There’s still that little note on his desk, with a private channel for Chi. He didn’t have the chance to connect to him yet, even though he already saved the frequency. Every comm conversation they had were on the channel together with Alia. 

Maybe he should check up on him now. It is already past 7pm, Chi should be available now. Zero puts his hand on his aural cone, connecting himself to Chi’s channel. 

“Hey, you there?” 

“Zero? Hey, how’s it going?” 

Chi seems to be outside right now, he is panting and the icy winds disrupt the receiver a bit. He seems to be really cold. 

“Why are you outside? The snowstorm is terrible today. It’s dangerous to go outside for you.”, Zero states, his voice tame, but his core burns up. 

“I told you I give my leftovers to people that need it, right? And that’s what I am doing now.” 

“You should think about your own safety first. Go home, now.” 

“Zero, they need it. Especially now. I can’t just leave.”, Chi sounds tired, the cold must be incredibly hard to endure. A civilian model, in a snowstorm like that, won’t hold on for long, that’s for sure. 

“Then let me do it. I can withstand that snowstorm better than you.” 

“No, no! It’s fine! Please, you don’t have to come fo—“, the panicky voice of Chi then cuts off, getting replaced by a connection to the emergency frequency of the Hunter Base. It was set to have the highest priority for every Hunter in the channel, so every other form of communication gets cancelled immediately. 

“To all troupes! We have an emergency! We got information that several Mechaniloids have gone berserk throughout Abel City. All units dispatch immediately! You will receive further instruction through your registered Navigators.” 

The voice of the Head Navigator is something Zero always dreads to hear. She is usually the one supplying the navigators with Sigma’s commands and assigning the missions to the different units. Whenever she’s heard directly by any Hunters, it means serious business. 

Zero drops the pencil-half in his hand on the ground and immediately dashes for the exit. The faster he is, the fewer casualties there will be. _Sorry, Chi, for hanging up on you_ _like that_ _. Please be safe._

“Zero, do you read me?”, Alia’s voice rings through his systems. 

“I do. I am on my way to the hangar as we speak.” 

“You will be dropped to your designated coordination with a Bee Blader. The amount of Mechaniloids gone berserk is increasing in an alarming rate. You will head to district 4, where most of them seem to be.” 

“…How’s district 7?” 

“There’s 2 confirmed Mechaniloids. You’re asking because of Chi, right…?” 

Zero enters the Bee Blader together with members of other units. “I do. He’s currently outside and I can’t contact him now that my connections got cut off.” 

“This is really bad, but stay focused on the mission. Your targets are 3 construction type Machaniloids. Residents of the area currently get evacuated by Hunters that were already on the scene when it started. There have been no confirmed casualties as of yet, but the Mechaniloids seem to focus on destroying roads and buildings.” 

“No casualties? How is that possible in such a large scale attack?” 

The Bee Blader has taken off, bringing Zero and the others to their designated drop point. Everyone is listening to their Navigator's orders, or asking them something. 

“I… I don’t have any information regarding this. It seems weird, but we should be grateful for it.”, Alia seems a bit puzzled by this as well. The less casualties, the better. But none at all seems highly unlikely. Both Zero’s and Alia’s experience as elite Hunters tells them something is off. 

“I get the feeling those Mechaniloids are just being used as some form of decoy. Something else must be going on elsewhere.” 

“I think so, too… I’ll try to get more information about it, but we need to concentrate on our objective for now.” 

“Understood.” 

An automated voice rings through the interior of the Bee Blader, announcing the arrival at the drop point. Every Hunter on board seems to be on edge now. Then the door opens. 

One by one they just jump out of the flying vehicle, dispersing in different directions towards their enemy. 

Zero heads straight down, readying his saber to plunge the enemy directly. The enemy comes into view and, according to Alia, the main generator seems to be on the backside of it. Zero just lets himself fall headfirst into the Mechaniloid, slashing at the generator the moment it is within reach. The upward force from slashing the generator with his saber softens the impact from the fall, but the joints in his legs still ache a little. 

The defective machine in front of him immediately turns off and falls forward, crashing into the ground. 

“Zero. That was incredibly dangerous and stupid… You should’ve set your priority to landing safely, before trying to take out the Mechaniloid.”, Alia comments exasperated. You can basically hear her pinching the bridge of her nose in disappointment. 

“But it worked. I had everything under control.” 

“Yeah, right. Anyway, there’s two targets left, back up the others. Head to the east, that one is closer.” 

Zero heads east, dashing through the snow, while others secure the area. The freezing cold bites in his eyes and joints, but slowing down is not an option. When arriving at the scene, Storm Eagle just lands the finishing blow, making the construction robot tumble and fall. He instantly spots the red Hunter and shoots him a thumbs up accompanied by a hearty laugh. The Animaloid Hunter casually flies over to Zero, after giving everyone else the order to assess any casualties. 

Storm Eagle seems so casual compared to everyone else. 

“Storm Eagle. I didn’t know you’d be here. Didn’t see you in the Bee Blader.” 

“I am faster on my own, and my wings would only take up space in there. I prefer to fly on my own, even though these temperatures make it a bit harder to fly properly.” 

“Understandable. Sorry to change the topic, but is it just me, or did this seem way too easy?”, Zero asks, crossing his arms in front of his chest. 

“Yeah, it seemed oddly staged. When I arrived here, the damage that has been done to the surrounding area was superficial and there was not a single causality. It seems like we’re missing something important…” 

Both Hunters get the confirmation that the third berserk Mechanaloid was slain as well. Too easy. Just as fast as Zero and Storm Eagle, the other Districts have been cleared. Not even an hour has passed since dispatching the Hunters, and the cleaning works have already started. Zero gets a worse feeling with every passing second. 

Then his comm initiates, confirming his worries. 

“Zero, do you read me?! Come back to base immediately!”, Alia announces, the panic in her voice apparent, “Some of the imprisoned Mavericks have escaped!” 

“What?! You gotta be kidding me! How could this happen?!” 

“I don’t know. Someone hacked our security system without us noticing.” 

“Zero, I got the message, too. I’ll bring us over there.”, Storm Eagle chimes in, now not as calm as he was before. 

**___________________________**

When arriving back at Headquarters, both elite Hunters can only examine the damage that has been done. Most of the cells are opened, now empty. Only the cells containing the worst Mavericks of them all were spared. Zero’s threat assessment is running havoc around all those mavericks, it’s getting hard for him to concentrate. 

“Why would anyone free Mavericks? At least thirteen of them must’ve escaped.”, Storm Eagle assesses the situation and inspects the damage further, “I will report this to Sigma and dispatch a search group. And you should try to calm down a bit, we got no time to start panicking.” 

Zero stiffens up after being called out like that. Compared to Storm Eagle, Zero is still a rookie. He may be an elite Hunter, due to his incredible combat skills, but Storm Eagle has a lot more experience on the field. The Animaloid places a hand on Zeros shoulder and smiles, “Don’t worry so much. We’re Hunters. We’re the sword and shield for those who can’t fight. If we start panicking, we start making rushed choices, which may lead to many fatal mistakes. So calm down.” 

Storm Eagle then turns away, leaving the scene to report to Sigma. 

“Awww that was cute. Your senior treats you like a puppy.”

A venomous voice leaks through one of the cells. Zero wanted to leave it alone, but his damaged pride said otherwise. He walks up to the cell, a shadow cast over the figure behind the bars. “Vile. I would recommend you to keep your mouth shut.”, Zero hisses, no sign of pity for the Maverick in the cell. The air around that Maverick seems thicker, as if you could cut right through the sinister intends that surround him. 

“Hahaha, so you don’t want to know who opened the cells? I could provide you with some information.” 

“No one would want any information from you, you liar.” 

“That hurt, Zero. I am certainly not a liar. If I get something in return for my information, I am very honest.”, Vile gets up from his sitting position, walking up to the bars, mere inches away from Zero. His threat assessment is triggering his fight or flight instincts, but Zero tries to keep his posture trained. 

“Like I said, I don’t want it.” 

“How about I’ll give you a little hint now, and if you want to hear more, we can make a deal?” Vile’s hands are cuffed, the shackles already scratching off the purple layer on his armor. 

Zero sighs, then indicates for Vile to go on. He should at least hear him out. Maybe some of the information is actually useful. 

“The Reploid that freed some of us here had white and blue armor. Shabby jet wings were attached to his back.”, Vile hints, a hidden smile underneath his helmet. 

Zero’s eyes shot up at that. That matches the description of his secret target. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, there surely are a lot of white/blue Reploids with wings out there. But what are the chances of them also being highly skilled Warbots? 

Vile notices Zeros sudden curiosity and chuckles quietly. “I see I’ve peaked your interest? My offer for a deal is still standing.” 

“Go to hell, Vile.” 

“Well, if you change your mind, you know where you can find me. It’s not like I can just leave.” 

With that, Zero exits the jail, his threat assessment slowly powering down. He definitely won’t rely on the information he got from a filthy Maverick. He’ll have to wait for Alia’s judgement before coming to any conclusions. 

On his way back to his room, his comm suddenly activates. 

“Zero? Are you there? Did it finally connect?”, the familiar voice of a small civilian reploid echoes in his head. 

“It did. Sorry for cutting you off earlier, Headquarters’ been cancelling my connections. Are you alright? You didn’t get hurt, right?” 

“No, no. I am fine. I was more worried about you.”, Chi’s voice sounds tired. It’s probably way past his usual sleeping time. 

“Sorry for keeping you up then.” 

“It’s fine, really. You don’t need to apologize. Just… stay safe.” 

“I will, and...”, Zero hesitates a bit, unsure if he should really say what he’s thinking, but then decides to just go for it, “Can I... visit you tomorrow? it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.” 

The tiredness in Chi’s voice instantly vanishes and the small reploid practically shouts into his comm without delay: “Yes! I’d be delighted to have you here! I wanted to ask you for a while now, but I only had the channel with Alia, and I think I was too shy to ask you with her listening in. Hehehe.” 

Listening to Chi’s beaming voice makes Zero smile. Oh, how he wished he could see the face Chi makes right now. It must be the most beautiful smile on this planet. All of his worries got washed away in an instant. 

“I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?”, Chi asks a little sheepishly after Zero hasn’t answered. 

“Yes, definitely. I’ll be there.” 

“Okay, have a good night, Zero.” 

“...You too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 8 chapters already, woooooh!  
> and I am so sorry for taking a whole week for this chapter. xP  
> I made it a lil longer as compensation though.
> 
> I really hope you enjoy the more serious bits just as much as the fluff, which there will be plenty of in the next chapter, so don't worry, i will still water your crops with some cute stuff uwu
> 
> as always thank you so much for reading my fic, the kudos and bookmarks!  
> The comments literally give me life and i appreciate them a lot! thank you so so so so much <3
> 
> if you would like to chat with me, or just need someone to talk to, you may always reach out to me on discord!  
> Sturmius#9759


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chi becomes Zeros personal dance tutor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it took me over a week to upload this chapter and i am kinda sorry about it. i was stuck at some point, which is why i am uploading this so late quq  
> BUUUUT here's the promised fluff! buckle up and grab a few blankets, it's time to get cuddly xP

‘Definition of ‘crush’: 

A person who gives you butterflies and makes your heart beat faster. A person that you can’t describe in a word, but multiple words. A person you can’t get off your mind.‘ 

“Gives you butterflies…? The only thing this explanation gives me are more questions…” 

6:39am in Abel City. The fresh snow glistening, reflecting and scattering the light in a beautiful dance of orange and yellow, making the city shine in an innocent way, all traces of war and fighting vanishing in this warm filter of peace. Gleams of a never resting sun peak through tall buildings, greeting the lonely souls that are already awake. 

But Zero’s room has no windows. And even if it had one, the only thing he would see through the transparent material is Abel City. Nothing more, nothing less. The place he’s been living at ever since Sigma has found him. 

The red warbot is sitting at his desk, his processing systems overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information he found regarding ‘a crush’. Yet, he doesn’t fully understand any of them. He never received any butterflies, nor is he having a heart that’s able to beat fast. No wonder he doesn’t understand it. Alia said Chi would have a crush on him, but how does she know? Zero didn’t give him any butterflies, and as far as he knows, Chi doesn’t have a heart either. Maybe he should ask her about it later. 

A knock on the door interrupts his research. When answering the door, he finds the hulking frame of Storm Eagle standing before him. “Storm Eagle? I thought you were searching for the escaped Mavericks?” 

“Can I come in? I would like to speak to you in private.” 

Zero steps aside, letting Storm Eagle enter his room. It’s the first time he willingly let someone come in. The only thing giving away that someone actually lives in this room, is the broken pencil on the desk. Storm Eagle claims his desk chair as seating, sighing overly dramatic, another thing humans do as sign of frustration. Zero found himself doing it on multiple occasions, too. 

“Is it about yesterdays incident?”, Zero starts the conversation, standing awkwardly in front of Storm Eagle. Maybe he should get more seating options in due future. 

“It is… When reporting to Sigma about the escaped Mavericks, he didn’t seem invested into it at all. He was actually really uninterested. Or maybe I just misjudged him. But anyway, I asked him to dispatch a search party to immediately reclaim the missing Mavericks, which he declined.”, Storm Eagle bends forward, leaning his elbows on his knees, the forearms limply hanging down. 

“Why would he do that?” 

“Is exactly what I asked him. He told me, we can’t aimlessly dispatch Hunters in case we get attacked again. Instead he just put the Mavericks in the Bingo Book and called it a day.” 

Zero crosses his arms in front of his chest, he doesn’t like what he heard. Sigma has always been a great commander, his actions always aimed to secure peace and protect the ones that can’t fight for themselves. His calm demeanor, quick thinking and incredible combat skills made him perfect for the role. So why is it that he doesn’t care about such a drastic situation? “What about that Maverick that hacked our security systems and opened the cells? He didn’t just put it into the Bingo Book, right?” 

“I wish he would’ve at least done that. He said we don’t have enough information regarding it, so he simply dropped the case entirely.” 

“What?! You’re kidding me, right? We’re talking about a Maverick that’s able to hack top notch security systems, and he just drops it?” 

“Zero, I know what you’re thinking. I am upset, too. But there’s nothing we can do about it now, so you better don’t try to do anything funny. Fighting with Sigma won’t help us.” 

Storm Eagle gets up from his seated position, walking up to Zero, a smile on his face. “We’ll just keep an eye out for those Mavericks and bring them back to where they belong.” 

“You’re way too calm about this whole thing.” 

“Someone has to be. Otherwise we would all end up in chaos.” , a hearty laugh escapes Storm Eagle, earning himself a borderline hostile stare from Zero in the process. 

“Anyway,”, Storm Eagle continues, when noticing his joke backfired, “I still have to patrol the missile base today. Gotta go.” 

The purple Animaloid heads towards the door, looking back at Zero for a moment, “You should try to loosen up a little. Making friends is a lot easier with a smile than a frown.” 

“You know, I couldn’t care less about that. Make sure to inform me, if you find out something new about the escaped Mavericks.” 

“Will do. And you, don’t do anything you’ll regret later. Have a nice day, Zero.” 

“You too..” 

As soon as Storm Eagle left his room, Zero drops his body onto the chair, sighing exasperated. All of this is getting so confusing. First, there was this weird Maverick, which triggers his threat assessment like crazy, now Sigma is acting weird as well. 

_What if they work together?_ Zero quickly locks that thought away. Sigma is the Chief Commander, he wouldn’t help a Maverick. There’s nothing he could gain from assisting a criminal, anyway. 

He shouldn’t doubt his commander. Maybe there was some reason for Sigma that explains his behavior, Zero just hasn’t figured it out yet. But what exactly is he missing? Being equipped with such complex processing mechanisms and detective skills is only a blessing for as long as you can actually solve anything with it. 

His processors keep thinking in circles. Trying to figure out everything with the limited information he has seems pointless. _I really need a distraction._

So he decides to visit Chi now. 

  
  
\---------------------------------------------------

  
  


8am. The trip was a fairly pleasant one. Not a single soul on the streets, the only sound is the wind in his aural cones. If only the world was as peaceful as it pretends to be right now. 

The café is dark when Zero arrives, Chi must’ve not opened it today. So he decides to check the back door, the one where he’s supposed to enter when visiting anyway. With a button press, he activates the bell, its ringing loud enough to hear through the front door. 

Just as Zero wants to ring the bell again, the door opens slightly. Zero can only see part of him, but what he sees is a disheveled Chi, a thick blanket wrapped around his entire body. They both share a look, then Chi closes the door in front of Zero again. 

“W-….What just happened…?” 

Zero is left in confusion, hasty footsteps heard inside. Not even two minutes after closing the door in Zero’s face, it opens again. This time Chi opens it all the way and smiles his signature smile. His hair seems a bit less scruffy, apart from a few strands that don’t seem to be tamable. A green hoodie is covering his torso. _Blue looks better on him._

“Hey Zero! I wasn’t expecting you to be this early.”, Chi opens the conversation and steps aside to make room for his guest. 

“Did I… I can come back later, if you’d like.” 

“You came all the way here, it would be rude to send you back. Just come in and make yourself at home.” 

Zero kicks the snow off his boots, then enters Chi’s home. The air smells like coffee and pastries, a sweet smell he immediately links to Chi. It’s not like robots emit much of a scent, but if Chi would smell like something, then it would probably be this. Sweet and calming. 

Chi offers him a seat in the kitchen at the dining table. An open faced book, a plate with some half eaten pastry and a mug stand opposite to where he sits. 

“Chi? Do you actually eat human food?” 

“I do. Well, sometimes I do. I like the taste. Would you like some?” 

“Nah, I’m good.” 

Chi sits down across from him and continues his breakfast. 

“So, I have some new info regard-“, Zero got cut off by Chi, a small hand hovering in front of his face like a stop sign. “Don’t you dare end that sentence now. You’re not here to discuss that with me, this is ‘us-time’. Only fun topics are allowed on ‘us-time’.” 

The outstretched hand finds its place back around the girth of his mug, cradling it with care. Chi is still looking at Zero, probably waiting for one of those many fun topics Zero doesn’t have. 

When Zero waits for too long and the silence starts to get awkward, Chi saves him from his misery, “Did you listen to the music I gave you?” 

“Uhm, no. I think I must’ve forgotten about it.” 

“What? Really? Let me turn on some music then. I know you’ll enjoy it.” 

With a few button presses on a small machine on the table, a quiet melody fills the room. It’s a very soft tune. Something he must’ve heard as background music somewhere, but never actually listened to it. Chi is staring at Zero wide-eyed, impatiently awaiting Zero’s reaction. 

“It’s good, I think. Very calm. I suits you.”, even though his words were nice, his voice was still pretty unimpressed, “And that’s all you do with music? Just sitting and listening?” 

“Well…”, Chi starts sheepishly, “a lot of people dance to music.” He completely avoided eye contact, staring at the dents and scratches on the surface of the table. He traces a few of them with his index finger.

“Dance? What’s that?”, after getting scolded by Chi for looking up ‘music’ a few days ago, he decides not to look up what ‘dance’ is to avoid getting criticized again. 

“If…”, Chi stops, looking a little like he has to collect all his strength just to speak, “If you’d like… I could show you.” 

“Sure, I guess.” 

Chi gets up, then motions for Zero to do the same. There’s a small free space in the kitchen, which Chi decides to be their dance floor. A bright red blush is creeping up on his face. 

“There’s different kinds of dances, depending on what type of music is playing. For this, we could… uhm… I’ll show you. It’ll be fun!”, Chi struggles heavily just to voice his actions and Zero is starting to get a little worried for his friends mental health. 

“Let’s get started. When listening to this type of music, a man usually asks a woman for a dance by bowing down a little and reaching out his hand. We’re both male, but pretend I am a woman right now, okay?” 

“Okay, sure.”, Zero does as Chi said, bowing down a bit at the waist, then reaching out his hand, looking up to Chi to see if he had done right. Since Chi’s face looks very much red like a tomato, he must be doing something right. Every time Chi turns red, as if his ventilation has some serious errors, it seemed to be a positive reaction. 

The smaller Reploid puts his hand in Zero’s ever so gently. The fingertips feel like porcelain, fragile and beautiful. Chi has taken his hand before already, when pulling him around, but never has he touched him this way. It feels soft. 

Zero straightens his back again, looking at Chi with a smile. Not a forced smile, but a real one, one that’s only meant for Chi to see. 

“I guess the woman wants to dance with me, what do I do next?”, Zero asks. Even if Chi wouldn’t see his face, the smile is still visible through the tone shifting in his voice. 

“Oh, yes, sorry! Now I have to put my right hand in your left hand like this,”, Chi carefully positions Zeros left arm upwards and to the side, his palm facing upwards, then places his own hand carefully into the palm, “and now you… you… put your right hand on my back.” 

Zero does as he said, placing his hand on Chi’s back. The smaller Reploid then readjusts the position a little and situates his left hand on Zero’s upper arm. “This is the basic pose for dancing with someone.” 

“That’s all?” 

“Not quite, now comes the fun part. We’ll keep it easy, so we’ll just take three steps back and forth, keeping the rhythm of the music in mind.” 

After a few mishaps they both find their rhythm quickly. They both go back and forth, the beat of the music as their guidance, slowly adding more complex steps into the routine. 

“Wow, Zero. You got the hang of it so quick. You’re a natural at this.” 

“Or maybe I am just a robot with high specs, that’s able to understand and execute what you say?” 

“Don’t destroy my compliment!” 

Chi’s laugh is addicting, and soon Zero finds himself laughing ever so slightly through his nose. He would never laugh out loud though. Not a single sound should cover Chi’s laugh. 

The smaller Reploid slows down a bit. “There’s another kind of dance I would like to show you. It’s for when you really like a person, okay?”, Chi seems a lot more confident this time around, his cheeks only the palest shade of rose. 

“Okay.”, Zero lets go of Chi, waiting for his instructions. 

Instead of explaining something, Chi simply wraps his arms around Zero, pulling himself closer to the red Reploid. 

“Can you… do the same?”, Chi asks, his confidence chipping away faster than expected. 

Zero wraps his arms around the small Reploid, only now feeling how petite his stature actually is. It’s like he could accidently crush him in his arms, if he wasn’t careful. His chest feels warm, a warmth that spreads through his entire body. It’s a nice feeling. 

Zero was wrong though, Chi definitely does have a scent. His hair smells sweet, like flowers or fruit. A nice smell, something that fits the civilian Reploid in his arms. 

They both slowly swing to the music, relishing the feeling of being close to each other. 

After a few minutes Zero is the first to speak up. “Chi?”, he calls out. 

“Hm?” 

“Can you explain to me what it means to have a crush on someone? I looked it up this morning, but it just confused me.”, Zero asks casually. 

“A.. Do you think you have a crush on someone?”, Chi’s voice is barely audible, the tone in his voice definitely sad though. 

“I don’t know? Maybe I can tell you, when I understand what it is.” 

Chi unwraps himself from Zero, to his disappointment, and stares at the ground. “A crush.. let’s see… It’s when you can’t stop thinking about one person, when you feel the need to be close to them and spend time with them. It’s like time stops when you’re around them and all problems just vanish into nothingness.” 

“Not sure if I got that last part, but thank you for trying. From what I got it’s kinda like a good friendship. Maybe I should ask Alia, too.” 

“Ah yes, that sounds like a good idea.”, Chi finds the courage to look back up at Zero, his face still red, “You know, I wanted to start watching a human TV show. If you want we could watch it together.” 

“Sure.” 

They ended up binge-watching comedy sitcoms for six hours. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading my fic up to this point. i never thought I'd get this far.  
> Hopefully ya'll enjoy what i write and as always, you may add me on discord, if you'd like to chat or something xP
> 
> Sturmius#9759
> 
> I also have a deviantart account, if you're interested in seeing my art  
> https://www.deviantart.com/sturmius


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